Two commissioners at a Tuesday, April 9, morning Committee of the Whole meeting voiced support for one of three remaining comptroller applicants, while two other commissioners said they favor another candidate. With two more commissioners playing it close to the vest – and a seventh commissioner expected to be absent – a tie vote is possible.

First Ward Commissioner Dave Shaffer and Second Ward Commissioner Rosalynn Bliss said they want to hire former school accountant Andrew Morse for the job, while Mayor George Heartwell and Second Ward Commissioner Ruth Kelly prefer attorney Sara VanderWerff.

First Ward Commissioner Walt Gutowski voiced admiration for another applicant, former State House candidate Andrew Garlick, but did not express his voting intention. Nor did Third Ward Commissioner Elias Lumpkins. The other Third Ward commissioner, James White, is expected to be absent from tonight’s 7 p.m. meeting at City Hall, 300 Monroe Ave. NW.

The commission is seeking a replacement for Donijo DeJonge, who resigned in December after voters in November rejected her proposal to change the comptroller job from an elected position to an appointed one. Whomever gets appointed would complete the rest of DeJonge’s term, which runs through the end of the year. City voters later this year will elect a comptroller to a 4-year term from 2014-2017, and people have until May 14 to file as candidates.

Grand Rapids commissioners hoped to appoint a Certified Public Accountant who then could run as an incumbent in this year’s election. But two CPAs who applied both had city income tax compliance issues that eliminated them from consideration.

Of the remaining applicants, Morse has some commission support because of his government accounting experience, and VanderWerff has some support because of her legal and financial experience in banking.

VanderWerff was a late addition to the field after the commission last month re-opened the application period in hopes of attracting CPAs. You can watch her interview here, and see her resume here.

You can recap the interviews of Morse and Garlick here, and see their resumes here.

The job pays $53,200 per year. The city’s Local Officers Compensation Commission is scheduled to meet Monday, April 15, to re-evaluate pay for various city positions including the comptroller.